There are several I am really looking at picking up, but, there can only be....ONE...

Last Night On EarthYggdrasilShadows over CamelotThunderstone: DragonspireGhost StoriesCosmic EncounterTwilight Imperium 3rd Edition (I have wanted this game since forever, and I think I can finally get it)

The question, though....if it is Twilight Imperium, how good is the game w/o any expansions?

Of those games, I've only played Twilight Imperium (all three editions with all expansions). If you want that game, buy it! It's really good, and the third edition was specifically made to feel complete without any expansions (in fact, most people were pretty surprised when FFG released one anyway). Just one thing: If you play without expansions, make sure you print the rule fix to the completely broken Imperial Strategy Card. It's available on the Fantasy Flight Games homepage. I have never played with the original version of the card, and I never wanted to. It's so horrible that I can't imagine what FFG was thinking when they made it.

In any case, I can't imagine a more epic boardgame. This is Master of Orion in non-electronic form.

I love Twilight Imperium 3 but I never play it because it's a HUGE time sink. Games have lasted almost 8 hours or more in some cases. I imagine it could be played in 3 to 4 hours (I've never seen that happen, though), but certainly not less than that.

What's your audience like? Hardcore gamers? Family night gamers?

If you're buying for a group that enjoys all forms of board games, any of those will be good. If they're more casual gamers, I would suggest Ghost Stories (added benefit of being able to play solo as well), Thunderstone or Last Night on Earth. I've never played Yggsew3sdf2 or whatever it's called.

Shadows Over Camelot I've played twice and while I enjoyed it, you also need a group that understands backstabbing is a major part of the game and is okay with that.

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well...I ended up going with Twilight Imperium. I have wanted that game for years, and I have a somewhat regular group that gets together on most mondays with about 3-5 ppl mots of the time. They are all into the sci-fi theme (all of them are big fans of star wars, for example).

It came down to Shadows Over Camelot, TI3, and a game not on the list, Battlestar Galactica. I decided to go with TI3 and finally fulfill one of my years-long wish.

So, I have read through the rule book for Twilight Imperium (3rd Edition).

I actually have TWO groups that are wanting to play this. Problem is, I don't even know how to play it!! Any suggestions on really how to learn the game, and then teach the game to a bunch of other ppl? Usually, I set up a game and play solo a few times, but not sure that will really work with this beast....

hehehe ya soloing TI is tough, especially with the constantly shifting turn order and many, many actions occurring in a round. ive tried it a few times and a couple was simply overwhelmed. however the game is great as far as recreating a space epic is concerned. it seriously "feels" like commanding massive fleets as they creep across the galaxy.

i think to make it easier, go over combat first and focus specifically on a ship battle to invasion. make sure to go over the special role of the planetary defenses as they can be confusing, but are very important. glance over the other stuff, as its pretty clear that bigger ships = better! remind people of the destroyers anti-fighter capabilities.learning how stuff is "paid for" is pretty easy, as long as you have a group thats played card games and the order cards themselves are rather self explanatory.other than that its getting a feel for how command counters are allocated but again you can pretty much "glance over" fleet size and strategic i think? at least at first. fleet size is easy and strategic will play a bigger part after the first few games - you just want to get your feet wet here! the major command counters (i forget what theyre called) - the ones to issue orders - spend time on these - where to issue orders (on the destination not individual fleets!) and what they do. good luck!

oh and maybe after going over the rules, you can set up the board yourself (be fair! - though im far from a "vet" i think your placement will probably not really hurt the game as long as dont really go out of your way to leave someone with no "good" systems nearby).

while youre doing that, you can have people go over their technology cards and get an idea of whats out there, and go over the ship capabilities in more detail. also explore their own races and glance at the order cards.

oh order cards - when going over rules explain that they want to balance what card they want to take with where they might fall in turn order. so while it might be REALLY fun to take two highly numbered order cards, they might want to instead only grab one and get the other to get in a few early moves. or not, its all up to them!

So, I have read through the rule book for Twilight Imperium (3rd Edition).

I actually have TWO groups that are wanting to play this. Problem is, I don't even know how to play it!! Any suggestions on really how to learn the game, and then teach the game to a bunch of other ppl? Usually, I set up a game and play solo a few times, but not sure that will really work with this beast....

I'm lucky in that I've always been the guy responsible for the rules in my boardgames, and I've got a lot of them. Absorbing and learning boardgame rules quickly is a skill you develop over time, and it definitely gets easier. For now, try setting up simple gameplay scenarios for yourself and perform some kind of important action to see how the rules work in practice. This will both allow you to discover what rules you don't remember, and will help you visualize how everything works.

For example, set up two hexes belonging to two different players, with occupied planets and all (don't forget a PDS or two). Give both players a fleet, then have one of them invade the other. Do the movement itself first, then the space combat, and finally a ground invasion. Confirm that you know what to do once ownership of the planet changes. Once you've done all this, give the relevant sections of the rules a re-read and see what you missed.

I find that the best way for rules to gel in my head after reading them is to watch some video reviews. Most of them have an overview of how to play the game and how a turn works. Tom Vasel does some of the best ones in his Dice Tower reviews, but I haven't seen a TI review (though I'm sure it's in his top 100 list videos, probably toward the top). I know there are gameplay sessions online for TI, too, and that may help.